Least rolling resistance hubs? Help.

Looking for a sealed and durable hub for a strong wheel build on an enduro bike with as little drag as possible. I was running Hope hubs, but the drag is, well a drag. My LBS said White Industries hubs have very little drag.

DT Swiss and the new Easton's are the lowest drag MTB hubs I have tried. DT Swiss would be the reliable choice out of the two. That said, I have only ridden King, I9, DT Swiss and Easton on my MTB's for some time so not a broad sample set.

That said, the lowest rolling resistance hub I have tried by far is the Campognolo on my road bike. Campy makes mountain bike wheels now as well under the Fulcrum brand.

American Classic hubs have the least drag of any cartridge bearing hubs I've used, especially in the freehub body. But while it is a 24 poe hub like the Hope and White Industries, the engagement is slower because the pawls take longer to engage. They are also quiet compared to most hubs.

However for the ultimate roll, nothing beats a quality Shimano cup and cone hub with a light grease (Slickoleum)...roll forever!!!

American Classic hubs .... But while it is a 24 poe hub like the Hope and White Industries, the engagement is slower because the pawls take longer to engage. They are also quiet compared to most hubs.

The Hope P2 rear hub has slow engaging angled-cut pawls and teeth too... and engage about as slow as an old XT 18 tooth hub while riding. Hopes are pretty high in friction also. But they look cool and are as loud as a Harley with straight pipes!

American Classic hubs have the least drag of any cartridge bearing hubs I've used, especially in the freehub body. But while it is a 24 poe hub like the Hope and White Industries, the engagement is slower because the pawls take longer to engage. They are also quiet compared to most hubs.

However for the ultimate roll, nothing beats a quality Shimano cup and cone hub with a light grease (Slickoleum)...roll forever!!!

I considered the Shimano route. But being in the NW, sealing against the muck is really important. The impression I was given by my LBS is that they wouldn't last long around here. It's been many years since I ran a non-cartridge bearing sealed hub here.

Any more thoughts on that? Shimano was my original first choice, but I was deterred from going that route for the above reasons.

And for the record, the Dura Ace hubs on my Surly are by far the smoothest rolling hubs I've ridden.

I considered the Shimano route. But being in the NW, sealing against the muck is really important. The impression I was given by my LBS is that they wouldn't last long around here. It's been many years since I ran a non-cartridge bearing sealed hub here.

Any more thoughts on that? Shimano was my original first choice, but I was deterred from going that route for the above reasons.

And for the record, the Dura Ace hubs on my Surly are by far the smoothest rolling hubs I've ridden.

I've run Shimano hubs in the PNW for years...though in the wet I prefer to use a heavier Marine grade grease. Even with the thicker grease a hub like the XT M756 or the STX M665 cup and cone hub still rolls forever and they hold up fine. You just have to stay on top of servicing them (usually 2x a year for me). That said I quite enjoy my WTB (American Classic clone) hubs for their drag free performance, quiet coasting, and nice stainless steel bearings.

My 10+ year old Ultegra hubs are also the smoothest hubs I've ever owned. Still original bearings packed with Slickoleum. I service them about once a year.

White Industries or American Classic are about the fastest rolling hubs I've seen, and I've had nearly all the high end hubs in my bike stand at one time or another. The American Classic's would probably be marginally faster rolling due to their pawls-retract-when-coasting freehub design, but this makes for sluggish engagement, on top of their already fairly low 24 contact points. They also have more durability issues that the tried and true White's, and I've also gotten more reports of flexy axles on the Classics.

I wouldn't, however, consider getting a hub based on rolling resistance, unless you are already on a race-bred XC machine with super high rolling tires and such. Rolling resistance due to hub bearings is a much smaller portion of total resistance than people make it out to be. Somewhere under 1%. There is a good bit on it in Bicycle Science - 3rd Edition. You would be much better off studying your tire choices well and working on dialing your inflation pressure than getting flexy hubs with soggy engagement. Dropping 2psi from each tire would give you a better rolling advantage than going from "good rolling" hub to a "great rolling" hub.

I will agree with those on the American Classic hubs. I have a set on my road bike and have easily 7000 miles on them. I had one of their front hubs on my old wheels on my mtb and though the bearings eventually went up here in the Pacific Northwet, they were easily replaced. Now I have some Sun Ringle Black Flag Pros. They're sealed and they roll very very well. I don't feel they're the most sealed in the world but again they're easy to service as well.